Package wrapping mechanism



'July 15, 1952 o. SANDBERG 2,603,048

PACKAGE WRAPPING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 29, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 1952o. SANDBERG 2,603,048

PACKAGE WRAPPINGMECHANISM Filed Nov. 29, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V ENTOR. 41 Used? San d2? 64 2 izzya.

July 15, 1952 o. SANDBERG 2,603,048

PACKAGE WRAPPING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 29, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet s July 15,1952 o. SANDBERG 2,603,048

I PACKAGE WRAPPING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 29, 1946 '5 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR. 05' dd? 5a 72- dbfg BY 0 v Patented July 15, 1952 2,603,048PACKAGE WRAPPING MECHANISM- Oscar Sand-berg, Toledo, Ohio, assignor toLynch Corporation, Anderson, 11111., a corporation of IndianaApplication November 29, 1946, Serial No. 712,910

Claims.

My present invention relates to a package wrapping mechanism andparticularly to a means for holding a wrapper while bringing an articleup to contact with its undersurface and end plates movable upwardly withan article such as a stack of cookies to serve as a means :to keep thecookies properly stacked until the wrapping operation commences duringmovement of the article up into a folder head.

One object of the invention is to provide a wrapper hold-down elementand means for retaining the ends of a stack of cookies intact until suchtime as they are received in a wrapper held thereagainst by saidhold-down element and the wrapper is folded thereover, the retainingmeans being particularly efiective for cookies orcrackers horizontallystacked face to face and which have the natural characteristic of beingsomewhat variable as to thehorizontal height dimension when so stacked,said retaining means including supporting plates that confine the endsof the stack as it is moved out of a pocket conveyor.

Another object is to eliminate the possibility of the end cookies orcrackers being -c-rumbled or otherwise damaged as the'endsoi the wrapperare folded over them during the initialor first-folding operationperformed on the wrapper so that I am assured of properly shaped andwrapped packages without their appearance be'ingdetracted from bycrushed or crumbled cookies or crackers;

A further object is to provide for-that type of wrapping machine which awrapper is deposited'on a table top, anart-icle is lifted through anopening in the table top, engagedwith the wrapper and then pushed upinto a folder head; a means to pass downwardly through the folder headand engage the wrapper with slight spring pressure for thereby holdingit against the article as the article is elevated into the folder head.

Still a further object is to provide endsupporting plates carried "by,the ram that .ra'isesthe article into the folder head and positioned atthe ends of the article or stack of cookies or crackers so that whenthey are moved .from between side plates .for a pocketconveyor, thestack does not .iallapart.

An additional object is to-provide the supporting plates floatingiycarriedrby the pocket conveyor side plates and lifted :by the ram bymeans of spring pressure so that they can be'eleva'ted up to the folderheadbutstopped rthere whilefthe ram continues to lift the. into the:folder head, the springs during such'ilift stretching to permitmovement of the ram without moving the supporting plates.

Another additional object is, to provide means for operating the wrapperhold-down element and the article end supporting plates in timedrelation to other parts of the wrapping machine so that they performtheir functions at the proper.

times in a cycle of operation of the machine.

With these and other objects :in view, my invention consists intheconstruction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of mydevice whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinaftermore fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated .in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a wrapping machine to whichmy present invention is applied.

Figure 2 is .an enlarged view thereof partially in section and showingthe parts in one operatin position during a cycle of operation of themachine.

. Figure2a is a side elevation of a Geneva movement showing its positionwhen the'parts are in the position shown in Figure 2.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2* showin the parts in anotherposition.

Figure 4 is a plan view of a pocket conveyor and V a ram of themachineas taken on the 1ine.A--J4 reference numerals Hi and 1 2 to indicatesupporting frame members for the wrapping machine. At the top of the'frame'members a table 13 connects them together and-the three elements10, 12 and I 3 constitute the main supporting frame of the machine.

The particular machine being described is similar to the one shown in mycopending application, Serial No. 654,079, filed' March 1'3, 1946, nowPatent No. 2,567,405, granted September ll, 1951, the wrapper hold-downand article endsupporting plate mechanism :of' my present invention c 3being added thereto. Where practical, I have used the same referencenumerals as in the copending application.

Pocket conveyor shafts l4 and are suitably journaled in brackets I6 and19 which extend from the frame member I9. The shafts carrying sprocketsl1 and 18, respectively. A pocket conveyor chain 20 surroundsth'esprockets l1 and I8 and also a third'sprocket at the same elevation asthe sprocket I1 and to the right of the drawing in Figure 1. The thirdsprocket is not illustrated in this application but is shown in mycopending application above referred to.

The conveyor chain 20 has spaced channel shaped article receivingpockets mounted thereon. The pockets 25 are adapted to receive a stackof articles 26 such as cookies, crackers or sandwiches (of the typeformed of two crackers with cheese or the like between them). Several'ofthe articles are arranged in a horizontal stack and in face to facerelation in each pocket. Side bars 21 are located at each end ofthestack to keep the cookies properly upright in the pockets until theyreach a ram station over a ram head 46. The forward ends of the bars 21(left end in Figure 1) are secured'as by rivets '22 to end plates 23.

The pocket conveyor 20-25 is driven by rotating the shaft 14' through achain drive 28 from in'intermittently operated shaft 29. The shaft 29 isdriven through a Geneva movement including a .notched disc 30 and acrank pin 3.2 to coact with the notches. The crank pin 32 extends from acrank arm 33 which is secured -to a shaft 34..

The shaft 34 isdrivenby aehain drive as from a main shaft 36 adjacentthe lower part of Figure 2 through bevelgears 31 and 38. The

main'shaft 36 is driven in any suitable manner as from an electric motorfor instance through step down gearing or the like as shown in my.PatentNo. 2,283,097, .issued May 12, 1942.

Each. channel shaped pocket conveyor is provided with a rectangularopening -39J-(see Figure 4) adapted'to permit the 'ram' head 40 to passup through the pocket. The ram head is on the upper end-of a verticalpost 4i secured to a slide'42 provided -with four bearings 43. Thebearings 43 slide on vertical guiderods 44 which are stationarily.mounted with respect to the frame [0-12-13 by having their lower endssupported by the brackets l9 and their upper ends supported by brackets45 connectedto the brackets I6.

For vertically reciprocating the slide '42 and thereby the ram post 41 Iprovide a link 48 pivoted to the slide and to an arm 49. The arm 49 issecured to a rock shaft 50 journaled in bearings 46 and 41 of the framemembers i0 and [2. The rock shaft 50 has also secured thereto an arm 5iwhich is connected by a link 52 to a crank arm 53 on themain shaft 36.

The main shaft 36 is rotated once each cycle above the ramhead 40 sothat the ram head can pass up through the pocket.

Above the pocket 25 a rotary folder head FH (omitted from Figure 1) isprovided. The folder head consists of a pair of stub shafts 55 on whicha casting is mounted. The casting includes two end plates 56 and 51 witha square connecting post 58 between them. At the center of the post 56two cross passageways 59 are provided at rightfangle's to each otherwhich result in the post 58 having four connecting portions 54.

Each end plate 56 and 51 has journaled therein a rod 60. It will benoted that four of the rods 60 are provided and that the folder head FHis arranged with four cooky receiving pockets each formed by a fiatplate 66 and arcuate plates 61 and 68. The plates 61 are fixed relativeto the folder head and have eyes 69 loosely journaling the rods 60 sothat the rods can ro tate therein. The plates 66 are secured to the postsections 54 so that they are fixed with respect to the rotary folderhead FH.

The folder head includes compression plates 2H and 212, one of each foreach of the four pockets of the head. Each plate 21! is carried by a rod213 (see Figure 8) which is fixed with respect to the folder head bybeing carried in the end plate 56. Eachplate212 is carried by a rod 214which is slidable in the end plate 51 and is constrained to. move in aninward direction by a spring 215. The inward limit of movement isdetermined by a stop collar 216 on the outer end of'the rod 214 strikingthe end plate 51. The inner end of the spring 215 bears against a collar211 on the rod 214.

The stub shafts 55 are journaled in a bearing 12 on the left side of themachine (see Figure 8) and in a bearing 13 on the right side. The rotaryfolder head isperiodically rotated one-fourth of a revolution by meansof gears 15 and 16, and a chain drive 11 over an idler 14 from the shaftof the ar 16 to the shaft 29, the ratio being 6 to 4 as the shaft 29 isto be rotated a sixth revolution each cycle and the folder head is to berotated a fourth revolution each cycle.

With further reference to details of the folder head FH, means isprovided to automatically 'open the lowermost one of the pockets as theram crank is rocked to the position shown in Figure 3 for opening 1 thelowermost plate 68 from the dotted position to the full line positionshown to permit entry of an article, into the pocket of the rotaryfolder head. The means for operating the bell crank 82-83 is shown in mycopending application. v v

After the article and its wrapper have entered thev pocket, the bellcrank 82-83 is rocked counter-clockwise for releasing .the extension 6|of the rod 60 so that the plate 68 is then spring returned to closedposition for retaining the partially wrapped package therein incooperation with the plates 66 and 61.

A wrapper for wrapping the package is shown at 91 in Figures 2 and 3.The wrapper is preferably supplied-tothe wrapping machine'in roll vidualwrappers as shown for instance in my Patent No. 2,883,096 ofMay'12,'.1942. A paper supply mechanism accordingly is not illustratedin-the present drawings. r

The wrapper '91 is f'ed on to the table 13 in flat form beneatha pair ofwrapper control rods 98 and'e's'l' The rods are supported by a pair ofsupports" lite. One'of the rods is capable of slight floating movementas its ends are mounted in slots [02 of the supports I ane springs Inormally pull the rod 99towar'd the rod 98. The space between the rodsis normalli slightly less than the diam'eterof the article. The rodsthereby efiect a close wrapping of the wrapper 9? around a stack ofcookies. V

When the wrapper 91 is in the position of Figure 2 itisrelatively-undisturbed but as the ram head eil rises as in Figure 3there is "sometimes a tendency for the wrapper to be displaced in onedirection or another and result in an improperly wrapped package. Ihavefound therefore that a hold d'owhplate 62 ehga'gea'ble under slightspring'pressure" with the wrapper as in Figure 3' to be" an effectivemeans to eliminate [any suchdisplacement. I

sThe hold-ddwn element 52 is mounted on a vertical rod 63 which rod'isslidable in bearings c4 and 55. Spring pressure is provided by means ofa spring 18 interposed between the bearing 65 1 and a collar H on therod 63. A second collar i9 is mounted on the rod above. the bearing (55to limit the downwardmovement of the rod. The

The guide bar 86- is'supported on a horizontal guide bar 81 which inturn-is supported by a frame 88 pivoted at 89 toa stationary bracket 90.Full details are shown in anotherof my copending applications, SerialNo. 691,081, filed August16, 1946, now Patent No. 2,443,992, grantedJune22, 1948." V

For vertically reciprocating the slide 851 provide a link 9| pivotedthereto and to an arm 92 of a bell crank pivoted at 93. The bell crankhas i a'second arm at connected by a link 95 to a lever 95. The pivot 93is supported by a bracket HM mounted on the frame 88.

The lever 38 isf'pivoted at 159 on a bracket jet secured to thehorizontal guide bar 81. The

1'ever 95 is part o'fa three-armed bell crank, the other twojarms ofwhich are indicated at I51 and [53. The arm l5? has a curved slot I56 inwhich a roller ls' lis adapte to travel. The

roller is mounted on a slide I55. The means for reciprocating the slideI comprises a pivot I46 on whichthe'rollr 154 is mounted and on'whicha'fitting l'44 i's pivoted. connected With the fitting M4 is a rod-likelink I45 terminating at its.

forward end in a fitting I43 pivoted to a rock a'rm M7. The rock arm I4!is secured to a rock shaft M3 which is journaled in brackets 1'42mounted on stationary rods IE9 extending forwardly from ,thc brackets9B. i

Alsolsecured'to "t ereshaft Mats enh m The crank arm l53 'is secured onthe shaft 34 to rotate therewith. The crank arin carries a reciprocation"of the "slide 15'5' with the roller I54 reciprocating in a horizontaldirection. An intermediate position. isfshown in Figures 1 and 2 and itwill be obvious th'atany'movementto the left will slightly raise the arm151 as in Figure 3, whereas movement to the right will lower the arm asin Figure 5.

The curvature of theslot I56 is such that considerable'moveinent' of theslide 155 and the roller I54 will result in much less oscillation of thebell crank 9Bl'-5'I|58 about its pivot I59 than the oscillation of therock shaft M8. purpose of this is soithat a second slide 123 which issli'dabl Oil the norizontaI guide bar 8?,

is connected with the arm ls'aby alink I86 and carries package endfolder plates 166 (see Figure 1) Will have less movementthah the slideI55 which carries a package pusher rod I7 I. The rod I'H splits into twobars I10 that terminate in pusher plate'sflli It is'desirabl'e owever tooperate the vertical slide etrrom the lever 96 *a'nd'at ahxeven higherrate of speed than the reciprocations of the pusher plates I12. This isaccomplished by the short lever 98 and the long lever 92With the outerend of the long lever connected by the link 9! to the vertical slide. ag The parts which I addto the ram a: and ad'- iacent parts ofthe machinefor the purpose of the'p'resent invention fvvill new be described.

Referring to Figured rhave added; ajp'air of vertical guide tubes "106to the'slide 42 in which acter have article end supporting plates I l2 7which are bent to an inverted u-shape with the arms on opposites'ides ofthe plate 23 as shown in Figures B'and Thaplates H2 are thus verticallyslidable in relatio :to the, plates 23.

They are limited in their sliding movement by pins H3 in vertical slotsH4 of the plates 23 and are normally constrained to their lower limitsof movement as in Filllfe 8 as by springs H5. The springs H5 areconnected to pins H5 at their upper ends and 'pins I 11 at their lowerends The pins H6 are carried by the reciprocable plates I I2 and thepins H1 b'ythe "stationary plates 23;

' Prdcticalopemtzoh In the operation of my package wrapping mechanismwhen a pocket 'ofr'cookies 26 reaches the ram station as shown Figure 2,the wrapper hold-down element 62 willbe at about the position shown andtraveling downward while the ram head '46 will be traveling upward. The

ram head will engage the cookies and lift them as in Figure 3 while theWrapper hold d'own element EZ'Will engage the wrapper 91 and as theslide 85 continues to move downwardly will ycause compression 'ofthespring ID as shown in crankpin I52 'o'n whichthe link l5] isrotat-ablyFrom the construction of the parts-just described; it 'w'ill'b'e obviousthat rotation-of the {shaft 34"(e1ockwise) willre'sult in rotation ofthe e'ren pi lsgzehc thereby oscillation dfthterockshaft i481 "Sfichosciilatib'fi'is transformed into this figure, the bearing ES leavingthe collar 19 e: cookies" are new held betweenthe ram and the wrapper'hi'JI c'l-ddwn element '52 SO that as the ram is elevated the pressureof the spring 10 keeps the eleme 'tt'z against the wrap er and thewrapper against the cookies and thereby against any accidental lateralslippage of the wrapper. This continues while the cookies-are beingforced up into the folder head FH and while the ends of the package arebeing folded by the plates'zllfand 212.

At the same time the package pusher rod Ill is traveling to the left forexpelling a previously partially wrapped package from that pocket of thefolder head which is at the left in Figure 3 as described in my first'mentioned copending application. The'pusher rod 'I'H being bifurcatedat I10 avoids interference of the pusher plates I12 with'the hold-downrod 63. At the time the pusher platesl'l2 are pushing a partiallywrapped article out of the folder head the pocket side 68 will be openas' in Figure 3 (left hand pocket) due to a pin 24! on a bell crank 246engaging the angled extension 61 of the rod 60 for this pocket. The bellcrank 246 is rocked counter-clockwise from the-position of Figure 2 tothe position of Figure 3 by reason of a cam surfacellS thereof beingengaged by a roller 250 carried by the slide I43.

As the ram head'40 continues upwardly from the position ofFigures 3 and8 the push rods I01 under the constraint of. the spring Hi9 cause theinverted U-shaped article/end supporting plates H2 to be elevated as tothe position in Figure 9 againsttheactionof the lighter springs H5.These platesthereby keepthe stacks of cookies from falling .apartparticularly at the ends while they are being moved upwardly frombetween the plates 23 (which must necessarily be below the top surfaceof the table [3) and the pocket end plates 2' and 212 spaced somedistance thereabove.

The plates H2 finally stop ,intheir upward movement due to the pins H3engaging the tops of the slots H4 after which the ram 40 and the rampost M'inay continue toelevate without the rods I01 pushing the platesH2 upward any farther. During the additional movement of the ram postthe spring I09 merely stretches as in Figure 9 to permit of suchmovement while the plates H2 arein stopped position.

As the ram is being elevated the slide 85 is also moving upwardlybut ata position trailing the upward movement of 'the hold-down rod 63 causedby theram' pushing it up through the medium of the stack of cookies 26interposed between the ram head and; the wrapper'under the hold-downfoot 62. Thus the spring pressure 10 is kept on the hold-down foot allduring the movement of the articles up into the folder head FH, thebearing 65 thereupon catching up with the collar 19 and elevating thehold-down foot 62 as to the position of Figure just prior to the rotaryfolder head rotating a quarter revolution as in Figures 5 and so. Atthis time also the pusher plates I12 are out of the folder head asillustrated so that there is nothing to interfere with the rotation ofthe head.

From the foregoing description it willbe obvious that I have provided aneffective means to control a stack of articles and a wrapper thereforfrom the time the article is lifted out of a pocket conveyor until it ispartially wrapped in a folder head. The parts are so designed and timedin their operating relation to eachother that the plete the package maybe performed as described in my first mentioned copending application.

Some changesmay be made in the construc tion andarrangement of the partsof my device without-departing from the real spirit and purpose of-myinvention, fand itfis my intention to cover by my claims any, modifiedforms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may bereasor'iably included within their scope.

I claim as myirivention:

1. Ina wrapping'machine, a pocket conveyor, a ram for elevating a stackof articles out of a pocket of said conveyor, end members along saidconveyor for supporting the end articles of the stack, a table havinganopening therethrough and adapted to receivea wrapper above theopening, said ram elevating the stack of articles through said openingand against the wrapper, a folder pocket above the table top to receivethe articles, a wrapper hold-down element movable downwardly throughsaid'folder pocket and engageable with the wrapper, means to move saidhold-down element, said hold-down element being connected with saidmeans through a resilient connection that biases the hold-down elementagainst the wrapper'as it is moved up into the pocket of the folder, andmeans for spanning the distance between said end members and said folderpocket comprising end supporting plates carried bylsaid end members andslidable upwardly relative thereto, stop means to limit the upwardsliding of said end supporting plates relative to said end members,means slidably carried by said ram and engageable with said end membersto elevate them'upon elevation of the ram, and a spring connectionifromsaid ram to said means permitting continued elevation of the ram aftersaid end supporting plates have been elevated to a position engagingsaid stop means.

2. A wrapping machine comprising a pocket conveyor, a ram for elevatinga stack of articles out of a pocket of said conveyor, end members alongsaid conveyor for supporting the end articles of the stack, a tablehaving an opening and adapted to receive a wrapper on top of the tableabove the opening, a ram for elevating the stack of articles throughsaid opening and against the wrapper, a folder ocket above the table topto receive the article and partially fold the wrapper therearound, ahold-down element movable downwardly through said pocket and engageablewith the wrapper, means to move said hold-down element, said hold-downelement being connected with said means through a resilient connectionthat biases the hold-down element against the wrapper asit is moved upinto the pocket of the folder by said ram, means for spanning thedistance between said endmembers and the ends of the folder pocketcomprising end supporting plates carried by said end members andslidable upwardlyrelative thereto, means slidably carried by said ramand engageable with said end members to elevate them upon elevation ofthe ram, and a lost motion spring connection between said ramand saidend supporting plates permitting continued elevation of the ram afterthe end supporting plates have been elevated to a position adjacent saidfolder pocket, said end supporting plates being engageable with said endmembers for positively stopping said end supporting plates in saidposition.

3. In a wrapping machine of the character having a pocket conveyor, aram for elevating a horizontal stack of articles out of a pocket at aram station; a folder head having a folder pocket to receive thearticles, and a'table between said pocket conveyor and said folder headhaving an opening therethrqugh for the articles and adapted aeoaoss toreceive a wrapper abovethe articles, end suppert ng ates in the stag 21:ar rm eb d a hold-d n eleen ileneaeirsa Wr p e S this t in, .j d ur rq rh t-m an for permitting ar cles to raise' said hold-down element underspring pressure applied to the hold-down element for preventingdisplacement of the wrapper as. it is partially foldedby entry into saidfolder head, said end supporting plates being moved upwardly with thearticle by said ram to a position where they commence to enter thefolder pocket, a stop to limit said end supporting plates in theirupward movement beyond such position while said ram continues to move,and a spring connection between said ram and said end supporting platesto permit said plates to stop while said ram continues to move.

4. In a wrapping machine of the character having a pocket conveyor, aram for elevating a stack of articles out of a pocket at a ram station,a folder head having a folder pocket to receive the articles, and atable between said pocket conveyor and said folder head having anopening therethrough for the articles and adapted to receive a wrapperabove the articles, end supporting plates for thestack of articlesmovable upwardly through said opening, ahold-down element movabledownwardly through said folder head and engaging a wrapper on said tablewith the articles moved upwardly by the ram, means for permittingarticles to raise said hold-down element under spring pressure appliedto the hold-down element for preventing displacement of the wrapper asit is partially folded by entry into said folder head, said endsupporting plates being movable upwardly with the article to a positionwhere they commence to enter the folder pocket, and means to stop theirupward movement beyond such position, said means comprising stationarystops for said end supporting plates and a spring connection betweensaid end supporting plates and said ram.

5. In a wrapping machine having a pocket conveyor and a folder headprovided with pockets having sides and ends, a ram for elevating a stackof articles out of a pocket of said conveyor and into a pocket of saidhead, said sides projecting farther toward said ram than said ends, andmeans to prevent separation of the articles in the stack from each otherwhile being transferred from a conveyor pocket to a head pocketcomprising end plates for the ends of the stack movable with said ram asthe articles are elevated from a conveyor pocket and until they enterbetween said sides of a head pocket.

6. Wrapper control mechanism for a wrapping machine of the characterhaving a folder head comprising a wrapper hold-down element movabledownwardly through said head. and engageable with a wrapper on a tabletop having an opening therein through which articles are elevated, saidhold-down element being resiliently mounted to permit the articles whilebeing elevated to move the hold-down element upwardly, the hold-downelement under resilient constraint of said resilient mount retaining thewrapper on the article against displacement until the article andwrapper enter the pocket of the folder head, and means to thereafterpositively move said hold-down element away from the wrapper,

'7. Wrapper control mechanism for a machine having a folder pocketcomprising a wrapper hold-down element movable downwardly through 10said Pocket ardea aseetlewitnai on a tab e topethreu, 21 are ele at d sahom down element being a y mounted t permit the article to elevate thehold-down element, and means for moving theiliold down ele ment awayfrom the wrapperafter the articleand wa n rnte the folder 9. 8,- W

. QIi QY, 3 9 9ld' 9 e thr sha ee rrQqke saf. e. per on a table tophavingan opening through which articles are elevated, said mechanicalmeans thereafter moving said hold-down element upwardly while thearticles are being elevated, a spring connection between said mechanicalmeans and said hold-down element to permit the article as it is elevatedto move the hold-down element upwardly under resilient constraint ofsaid spring connection, said hold-down element thereby retaining thewrapper on the article against displacement and said mechanical meanspositively moving said hold-down element upwardly after the articles arereceived in said folder pocket.

9. In a wrapping machine having a fixed table provided with an openingtherethrough and adapted to support a wrapping sheet above said opening,having a folder head provided with pockets having sides and ends, andhaving a conveyor for articles to be wrapped extending below said tableunder said opening, a stationary erect retaining member extending alongeach side of said conveyor and under said opening, a ram for elevating astack of articles from said conveyor between said retaining members andthrough said opening into contact with said wrap-ping sheet and theninto a pocket of said folder head, said folder head pocket sidesprojecting farther toward said ram than said pocket ends, means forelevating and retracting said ram, side plates vertically movable overthe facing sides of said retaining members through said opening, and

means for elevating said side plates With said ram until the articlesenter between said sides of said folder head pocket and for retractingsaid side plates while maintaining them in contact with said retainingmembers to be guided thereby.

10. In a wrapping machine having a fixed table provided with an openingtherethrough and adapted to support a Wrapping sheet above said opening,having a folder head provided with pockets having sides and ends, andhaving a conveyor for articles to be Wrapped extending below said tableunder said opening, a stationary erect retaining member extending alongeach side of said conveyor and under said opening, a ram for elevating astack of articles from said conveyor between said retaining members andthrough said opening into contact with said wrapping sheet and then intoa pocket of said folder head, said folder head pocket sides projectingfarther toward said ram than said pocket ends, means for elevating andretracting said ram, side plates of inverted U -shape straddling saidretaining members and vertically movable through said opening, and meansfor elevating said side plates with said ram until the articles enterbetween said sides of said folder head pocket and for retracting saidside plates while maintaining them in straddling contact with saidretaining members to be guided thereby.

OSCAR SANDBERG.

(References on following page) 11 REFERENCES CITED Number The followingreferences are of record in the 2308376 file of this patent: UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 5 2,449,395 Number Name Date 2,526,824 1,803,633 McCainMay 5, 1931 1,875,979, Beutel Sept. 6, 1932 1,975,916 Bech' Oct. 9, 1934Number 2,066,414 Mflmoe Jan. 5, 1937 10 57,372 2,077,431

Neumair Apr. 20, 1937 12 Name Date Sandberg July 23, 1940 Lenzke June3', 1941 Sandberg May 12, 1942 Lalso Sept. 14, 1948 May Oct. 24, 1950FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Netherlands Apr. 15, 1946

